Natural Disasters WILL help your Recruiting Efforts—It’s a Fact

In case you missed it…

Last month we talked about how the recent hurricanes would affect the job market and how recruiters should use that to their advantage in, Hurricanes or Bust? How Natural Disasters Can Help Your Recruiting Efforts.

Let’s reflect on a piece from that post:

 ‚ÄúWith Hurricane Irma a recent scar to millions in the state of Florida, numbers of unemployment surely will continue to rise in the next few days and weeks.‚Äù

As a recruiter, following the trends of the job market is essential to success as this will directly affect you and the amount of jobs that sit on your desk.

Well, less than a month later, our predications have been confirmed:

“According to CNN, unemployment and loss of jobs is at an all-time high. The United States lost 33,000 jobs in September as the economy took a hit from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. It was the first monthly decline in jobs in seven years. The jobless rate dropped to 4.2%, the lowest since 2001.”

Again, recruiters, facts are facts. With the economy taking a hit and the unemployment rate where it is, there is no reason you shouldn’t be using this to your advantage.

The more unemployed people out there, the more likely the chance is when you call them they will be engaged and ready to take your call.

Wait, no, they will be begging you to call them.

These are some suggestions on how to reach out to these candidates affected by recent natural disasters:

1. Stay positive – Let’s not remind them, “hey I know you lost everything and you need this job.” Stay positive and get them motivated.
2. Offer new hope and opportunities – AKA, make them feel needed. These people have gone through some tough times, and you should be their beacon of hope. Present them with the opportunities to get them back on their feet and headed towards success.
3. Don’t settle, build a network – Just because your candidate pool will get bigger doesn’t mean you will get everyone a job. You can reach out to these people even if they don’t meet all criteria of the job just to build your network. You can be their coach and guide them through their tough time.

As a recruiter, the end goal is to fill your position with quality candidates. With the candidate pool getting bigger with people who NEED jobs and the bigger selection for you to find that purple squirrel, the higher the chances are your recruiting efforts will be made easier and your network will sky rocket.

All across the southeast, countless cities and islands get battered throughout hurricane season, and the hurricanes are only getting stronger, creating a sudden rush of people probably deciding to leave all together. Why not give them an out via new employment opportunities… with your position? It’s a win, win.